Balteus

Balteus is a Latin word, possibly itself from Etruscan, which means "belt", a word derived from it.

It has particularly been used as a term for:

The girdle of a Biblical Jewish priest, three or four fingers in breadth and (according to rabbinic tradition) thirty-two ells long; it had to be embroidered after the same pattern and to be of the same colour as the curtain of the forecourt and the tabernacle of the covenant (Exodus 39:38).
A sword belt worn by the Roman legionary
A belt or collar passing round a horse's neck and breast, partly for protection, and partly for ornament. It was often decorated with embossed work, and sometimes carried bells.
The belt on the celestial globe representing the sun's course and bearing the signs of the zodiac.
The praecinctio (διάζωμα) of the ancient Roman theatre.
In Ionic architecture, an ornamental band which encircles the pulvinus, or bolster of the capital.
The sub-cinctorium, a papal garment.

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Sources

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.
This article incorporates text from the article "Balteus" in the public domain Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities by Harry Thurston Peck (1898).